Motley Crue star Nikki Sixx has blasted Gene Simmons for ill-advised comments the rocker made recently about people battling depression.

The outspoken KISS bass player upset many people when he implied that those fighting depression should simply kill themselves rather than complain about their lives, and Sixx, a recovering addict, was one of them.

During his Sixx Sense radio show on Wednesday, the new dad said, "I like Gene but in this situation, I don't like Gene. I don't like Gene's words, because... there is a 20-year-old kid out there who is a Kiss fan and reads this and goes, 'You know what? He's right. I should just kill myself'."

The Motley Crue star added, "For people who are depressed, there is a way out. There are many, many ways out. And I don't want people to listen to an interview from a rock star, who's telling you the only way out is out, when I'm telling you... you can get out of this.

"One in 10 Americans are affected by depression at one point in their life, so this is another thing to think about. At one point in your life, meaning it will come and it will go... They say all bad things must pass, all bad things will pass, so keep that in the back of your mind if you're feeling (the onset of) depression, and don't listen to people who don't know what they're talking about."

Simmons' comments came during a recent interview when he was asked about his relationship with the original members of Kiss, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss.

He said, "I don't get along with anybody who's a drug addict and has a dark cloud over the head and sees themselves as a victim. For a putz 20-year-old kid to say, 'I'm depressed. I live in Seattle'. F--k you, then kill yourself."